The phrase, “God’s preferential option for the poor” was coined by some religious scholars. This, they use to describe the special attention God pays to the poor and the disadvantaged as reflected in both the Old and New Testaments. Truly, the poor easily gets God’s attention because of their disposition that befits the grace of God. But in a world that runs on the principle of “the survival of the fittest,” who cares for the poor? Even a pastor of a gospel church was heard sometime ago announcing to his congregation that his church was not for the poor. How absurd!

In today’s text, we find sundry ceremonial and moral precepts God gave to the children of Israel through Moses. They contain principles that should get us sure-footed on the path of righteousness. Israel was reminded that they were dealing with a holy God and as such were expected to be holy themselves. Even so are we, that are by redemption affiliated to the same God of holiness expected to be holy. This holiness consists in our duties to God and to man.

Verses 9 and 10, however, draw attention to God’s concern for the poor and the disadvantaged. The Jews were required to deliberately leave their corn-fields and vineyards after harvesting for the poor to pick up the leftover. God expects the piety of His people to incorporate benevolence - making provision for the poor and needy.

The people of the world may continue with their greed, avarice and covetousness, but those who have tasted of the grace of God and in whose hearts the love of God is shed abroad have no excuse to neglect this duty of caring for the poor and disadvantaged. Look around, see the poor and, as much as it lies in you, help put a smile on their faces. Indeed, when you share your blessings with the less privileged, those blessing become multiplied. In attending to the poor though, let’s strike a balance. Don’t become a god to anyone and do not allow your benevolence to promote idleness.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Holiness does not make us insensitive to people’s need.

Ovarian cancer is a type of cancer that begins in the ovaries. People typically have two ovaries, one on each side of the uterus. The ovaries, each about the size of an almond, produce eggs (ova) as well as the hormones estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.

Ovarian cancer often goes undetected until it has spread within the pelvis and abdomen. At this late stage, ovarian cancer is difficult to treat and is often fatal.

Ovarian cancer treatments are available. Researchers are studying ways to improve ovarian cancer treatment and looking into ways to detect ovarian cancer at an earlier stage, when a cure is more likely.

It’s not clear what causes ovarian cancer. In general, cancer begins when healthy cells acquire a genetic mutation that turns normal cells into abnormal cells. Healthy cells grow and multiply at a set rate, eventually dying at a set time. Cancer cells grow and multiply out of control, and they don’t die when they should.

As abnormal cells accumulate, they form a mass (tumor). Cancer cells invade nearby tissues and can break off from an initial tumor to spread elsewhere in the body (metastasize).

Symptoms of ovarian cancer are not specific to the disease, and they often mimic those of many other more-common conditions, including digestive problems.

The type of cell where the cancer begins determines the type of ovarian cancer you have. Ovarian cancer types include:

Cancer that begins in the cells on the outside of the ovaries. Called epithelial tumors, these cancers begin in the thin layer of tissue that covers the outside of the ovaries. Most ovarian cancers are epithelial tumors.

Cancer that begins in the egg-producing cells. Called germ cell tumors, these ovarian cancers tend to occur in younger women.

Cancer that begins in the hormone-producing cells. These cancers, called stromal tumors, begin in the ovarian tissue that produces the hormones estrogen, progesterone and testosterone.

The type of ovarian cancer you have helps determine your prognosis and treatment options.

Risk Factors:Certain factors may increase your risk of ovarian cancer. Having one or more of these risk factors doesn’t mean that you’re sure to develop ovarian cancer, but your risk may be higher than that of the average woman. These risk factors include:

Inherited gene mutations. A small percentage of ovarian cancers are caused by an inherited gene mutation. The genes known to increase the risk of ovarian cancer are called breast cancer gene 1 (BRCA1) and breast cancer gene 2 (BRCA2). These genes were originally identified in families with multiple cases of breast cancer, which is how they got their names, but these mutations also have a significantly increased risk of ovarian cancer. Another known genetic link involves an inherited syndrome called hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC). People in HNPCC families are at increased risk of cancers of the uterine lining (endometrium), colon, ovary, and stomach.

Family history of ovarian cancer. If people in your family have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, you have an increased risk of the disease.

A previous cancer diagnosis. If you’ve been diagnosed with cancer of the breast, colon, rectum, or uterus, your risk of ovarian cancer is increased.

Increasing age. Your risk of ovarian cancer increases as you age. Ovarian cancer most often develops after menopause, though it can occur at any age.

Never having been pregnant. People who have never been pregnant have an increased risk of ovarian cancer.

One of the world’s latest and deadliest diseases is Ebola it is introduced into the human population through close contact with the blood, or other bodily fluids of infected animals. It is spread in the community through human-to-human transmission. It was also documented that through the handling of infected fruits and animals it can be contacted.It is not new that the world is now full of deadly diseases and one of the best ways to prevent and control all these deadly diseases can begin from family unit. Gone are the days when couples will be too careless about each other and their children. Communication and togetherness are very essential in marriage these days. Information can be easily shared in a home where there is emotional availability of both parents. A father who is emotionally available can save his home from deadly diseases. Mothers, don’t be too careless and busy at the expense of the welfare of your home. Children need information and how can they get it when you not emotionally available.

No licensed vaccine for EVD (Ebola Virus Diseases) is available. Several vaccines are being tested, but none are available for clinical use. Sir & Ma, your marriage can be saved if it can have more of your love, availability, emotional connection, communication, adequate fatherly and motherly roles, responsibilities and tender loving care. Be available to order the steps of your children on a right path. God heals but our responsibilities as couples and parents also counts.Hold your wife’s hand with your children and let love bind you against any deadly disease.Exo 15:26 Then he said, "I am the LORD your God, and I cure your diseases. If you obey me by doing right and by following my laws and teachings, I won't punish you with the diseases I sent on the Egyptians."May the GOD of Heaven save you and your household from deadly diseases of this time in JESUS name.By Ojo.

Jesus replied, "'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind." This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbour as yourself."' Matthew 22:37-39

Some years ago, about three hundred whales were found stranded on a beach. Scientists speculated that the whales had been chasing sardines and became trapped in shallow water when the tide went out.

Now that's an amazing thing. By chasing little sardines, these gigantic creatures were ultimately led to their doom.

Many people waste their lives chasing non-essentials. They major on the minors and have no clear focus or objectives in life.

But God tells us what should be the primary goal of every Christian. If we can get our priorities straight in this area, everything else will come together.

In fact, if we can get these two principles operating in our lives, then all the commandments of God will become a natural outflow of our commitment to Him.

What are these principles?

• You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.

• Love your neighbour as yourself. When Jesus spoke these words, He was identifying what should be the focus of every person.

Essentially, He was saying that love is the basis for all obedience. If you really love God, then you will naturally want to do the things that please Him.

In fact, if you would love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and would love your neighbour as yourself, you would never transgress a single commandment of God. You would have fulfilled all the requirement of the law.

What is your highest priority in life? What is your greatest desire? Is it to please God? Then love the Lord and love your neighbour.

Prayer: Lord, help me love You with all my heart, my soul, and my mind, and love others as myself.

Monday, 28 July 2014

Key verse: “And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people” (Leviticus 17:10).

The reason, no doubt, the laws of most nations of the world are stiff concerning murder and bloodshed is because of the value God has placed on life. Israel’s redemption from Egyptian slavery and bondage was made possible by the blood of the passover lamb. In other words, they were saved by the shedding of the blood of the animal; its death becoming substitutionary for the people. The Lord directed the children of Israel that the blood of the lamb at passover was to be placed on the two side posts and on the upper door post of every home, “and when I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Exodus 12:13).

The life of the flesh is in the blood (verse 11). The blood of any animal is identified with its life. The animal sacrifice is used as atonement for human sin at the price of the animal’s life. This is the principle of substitutionary atonement: the animal dying in man’s place. This underscores the importance and pricelessness of the blood of Christ as the instrument of our salvation and redemption.

Eating of blood was prohibited because of the value God attaches to blood. It is also to discourage heathen and idolatrous practices and to preserve and remember the symbolism of the sacrifice – Christ’s death on the cross for the redemption of man. No other sacrifice is needed today. “For, there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). The Blood of the Saviour is the means by which believers have been ransomed, the means by which we have been vindicated over guilt and condemnation. Therefore the Blood must be sacredly appreciated.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: “Without shedding of blood, no remission of sin.”

This is your week of testimonies, receive testimonies because of the blood of Jesus,
receive grace for your job, profession, family, academics and every area of your
life. Every famine ruling over your life in any area will be terminated now
in Jesus name. Your days will not be wasted in the mighty name of Jesus J

2.Make the pie crust: In a
large bowl or in a food processor, combine the flour and salt. Add the butter
and toss to coat. Cut the butter into the flour with your hands, or pulse in
the food processor until the butter resembles the size of peas.

3.Add the water and mix to
combine. The dough should come together easily but not be wet or sticky. Wrap
the dough and chill for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

4.On a lightly floured
surface, roll out the dough until it's 1/4 inch thick. Transfer it to a pie
plate, and trim the edges so there is only 1/2 inch of overhang all around.
Chill the dough inside the pie plate for at least 30 minutes in the
refrigerator.

5.Fold the excess dough under at the edges, pressing gently to “seal” the
dough to the pie plate. Finish the edges as desired. Poke the base of the crust
a few times with a fork. If the
dough seems warm, chill it again.

6.Line the crust with parchment paper and pie weights, and bake until the
crust is golden and crisp, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the parchment and pie
weights and continue baking until the crust is fully baked, 5 to 10 minutes
more. Cool
completely.

7.To make the finished pie,
mix the milk, cream, vanilla bean, and 1/4 cup of sugar together in a medium
sauce pot. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat.

8.While the milk warms up,
whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch, and eggs in a medium
heat-safe bowl.

9.When the milk comes to a
simmer, gradually pour the hot liquid into the egg mixture, whisking constantly
to combine. Return the mixture to the pot and cook until the mixture is thick
and comes to the "first boil" (one large bubble rising from the
center of the pot, not many small bubbles around the edges).

10.Whisk in the butter and
pour the mixture into the prepared pie crust. Cover the surface of the pudding
directly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until fully chilled, at least 3
hours.

11.To finish the pie, top the
pie with the strawberries. Warm the honey over medium heat, and when it’s
runny, brush it over the strawberries. Serve the pie chilled.

Friday, 25 July 2014

By now you already know that too much sugar harms your body. It makes you fat, leads to diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, and the list goes on and on.

If you have a health problem, chances are it's caused by, or made worse by, too much sugar in your diet. An easy test is to stop eating sugar, including carbohydrates like white bread, pasta, and rice (which affect your body the same way as sugar) for a couple of months and see how you feel.

Chances are, you'll feel better. Remember, sugar comes in many forms. The most popular is high fructose corn syrup, but there are many other forms, including other types ending in -ose, starches and, of course, cane sugar, syrups and honey.

If you don't think you can bear to go without the sugar and refined carbohydrates outlined above, you are most likely a sugar/carb addict. That is a subject for another blog, but in short, science has determined that in some people, sugar and carbs cause the release of dopamine in the brain, which is connected with pleasure and reward, so you never get enough ... in fact, you always want more.

This is a big problem for your health, but perhaps more importantly because no person should be in bondage to any substance, whether sugar, carbs, alcohol, painkillers, cocaine and so on.

If you find yourself thinking, "I can't go without ... " and you complete the sentence with a substance, you are an addict, and you need help. Humans are not made to be slaves to substances. We should be in control of them, not the other way around.

But take heart: if you are under the control of a substance, you can change! In the case of sugar and carbs, you probably only need to go cold turkey, exercise extreme self-control for a time and your cravings will go away in a few days to a few weeks.

I am speaking from experience. However, if you're addicted to any of the other substances listed above, please get help from one many treatment centers and organizations available.

So while we've established that sugar is terrible for your body, did you also know it wrecks your brain? It does!

Researchers at UCLA fed three groups of rats the same food: "rat chow," or regular rat food. During this time, the researchers trained all three groups of rats to navigate a maze.

The maze had lots of walls, visual markings, so the rats could learn their way, and one exit. All three groups of rats learned the maze the same.

Then the researchers substituted one rat group's water with water spiked with fructose.

Sound familiar? That's what soda is. So that group of rats ingested lots of sugar over a period of six weeks. At the end of the six weeks the rats who had been fed fructose were slower and had greater difficulty remembering how to get through the maze than the rats who hadn't been fed the sugar.

According to one of the researchers, "Their brains showed a decline in synaptic activity. Their brain cells had trouble signaling each other, disrupting their ability to think clearly and recall the route they'd learned six weeks earlier."

The rats that were fed fructose also developed insulin resistance. Researchers suggest this disrupts learning and causes memory loss and corrupts the brain's ability to process thoughts and emotions.

According to one scientist with the study, "Insulin is important in the body for controlling blood sugar, but it may play a different role in the brain, where insulin appears to disturb memory and learning," he said. "Our study shows that a high-fructose diet harms the brain as well as the body. This is something new."

But wait, there's more: a fascinating twist. Remember there were three rat groups? One stuck with the original diet, the other was fed a bunch of sugar, and the third was given a bunch of sugar AND...Omega-3 fats, like the kind found salmon, walnuts, and flax. The group of rats that was fed sugar and Omega-3 fats navigated the maze much better than the group of rats that had just sugar.

The conclusion is obvious. Omega-3 fats lessen the destructive impact of sugar on the brain.

We can learn a lot from this study. The first thing is to avoid fructose like the plague. Regardless of what we do during the day, we must perform at our best intellectual ability, and fructose simply handicaps our thinking process.

We must look at the list of ingredients in all the things we purchase, because fructose is added to an estimated 80 percent of the items at the typical grocery store. If you see fructose in the list of ingredients, or one of its sugary cousins, such as ingredients ending in -ose, or "starch" or "syrup," don't purchase it.

Of course fructose and related sugary ingredients are added to sweets like cookies and candy. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. They're in foods that many people do not consider sweet, but they really are, such as bread, crackers, pasta sauce, granola bars, cereal, yogurt, jelly, and on and on and on.

So read the list of ingredients. Remember the list begins with the ingredients the food contains the most of, and goes from there. So if sugar is the first ingredients, run for the hills. That means it contains more sugar than anything else. This applies to many foods. Don't believe me? Check out the ingredients of soda or kiddie cereal.

If you are less than perfect, and choose to eat something sugary, this study teaches us that we can mitigate the damage from that sugar by consuming Omega-3 fats. Although these healthy fats are found in foods like salmon, walnuts, and flax, it's actually difficult to get enough Omega-3s from our diet.

So it's best to take a fish oil supplement. Make sure you look at the label of the supplement and get the one that tells you how many milligrams of DHA are in each capsule. Take enough capsules each day to equal about one gram of DHA per day.

By the way, you should know that the consumption of too many Omega-6 fats blocks your body's ability to process Omega-3 fats. So it's best to cut way, way back on Omega-6 fats. These are vegetable oils, corn, soybean, canola, etc. These are the oils in the clear, plastic bottles that line the grocery store shelves. Also check the list of ingredients on processed foods for these unhealthy oils.

A good diet consists of consuming EQUAL amounts of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fats. However, the average American consumes 20 times more Omega-6 fats than Omega-3s, and this imbalance leads to massive inflammation, a known killer. And since the two types of fats compete against each other, eating too many Omega-6 fats blocks your body's ability to process the healthy Omega-3s.

So to summarize, for healthy brain function, including memory and thinking, stay away from sugar and take one gram of DHA in a supplement form each day. Finally, drastically reduce your consumption of Omega-6 oil.

Key verse: “He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich” (Proverbs 21:17).

It will be difficult to quantify the number of families and lives that have been ruined by the love of alcohol. The bottle has not only succeeded in impoverishing many that love it, but has stolen away joy, peace and harmony in many homes. Many children have been denied the love, warmth, affection and care expected to be given in the family due to the influence of alcohol. How many promising men, having great potentials and wonderful careers have had their careers ruined and thrown out of job because they have become slaves to alcohol. And there are countless number of untimely deaths, young wives turned to early widows and children orphaned at tender age, all due to alcohol.

Our passage today warns against the practice of abandoning oneself to pleasure. There are so many people who spend all their time and money seeking for pleasure. They can be said to be possessed by the party spirit. While they cannot afford to pay their children’s school fees and provide for their basic essentials of life, they can afford the money for expensive party dresses, designer’s perfumes and other such vanities. Some even go to the extent of taking loans just to organize parties.

This is the spirit of the world and must not be found among Christians. Christians are supposed to be discreet, prudent and wise in all their dealings. Their lives are to be lived to the glory of the Lord. We should also bear in mind that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which must not be defiled with alcohol or any other such defilements.

It is not only the Bible that warns against the danger of alcohol and reckless pleasure seeking. Government agencies have joined in the campaign. The wise will take heed and keep off. Whatever subtracts from a sober Christian fellowship which must be Christ-honouring and soul-seeking cannot be of God. We must avoid all tendencies that paint the believer in lurid, worldly colours.

Wednesday, 23 July 2014

KEY VERSE: “A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD” (Jeremiah 25:31).

Men go to great lengths to ensure they do not contravene the rules set by powerful personalities or state authorities. The reason is simply because they know they would never be able to avoid the long arm of the law against offenders. Ironically, the same people who tremble at the laws of men, trifle with, or flagrantly contravene God’s holy standards on the misguided belief that they can get away with it, or that God is not bothered by their conducts.

Yet, God cares and He is even more meticulous in documenting breaches of His law than any man-made authority will ever be able to do. When therefore, God says that He has a controversy with the inhabitants of nations, the mere thought of this must drive fear into all hearts. For it is certain that God will come roaring on the day He will mete out judgment on sinful men in all nations. Because the people relished evil, God will unleash evil on them. On that day, none can escape this vengeance of the Lord. The offenders will cry out, but it will be too late.

A discerning heart can avert this impending doom by submitting to critical self-examination and taking stock of where one has offended God. He must thereafter go to God in penitence, pleading for pardon and forgiveness, and asking for grace to make a fresh start with Him. This is the only way to avert the death sentence already pronounced on all sinful persons. But those who ignore the repercussions of their evil conducts and continue to live contrary to the word of God will draw His fierce anger and eventually, face His severe punishment.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”.

Monday, 21 July 2014

1. My son, if you keep spendingon a woman and she never askedyou if you’re saving or investing,and she keeps enjoying theattention, don’t marry her.2. My son, a woman could be agood wife to you, some could bea good mother to your childrenbut if you’ve found a woman likea mother to you, your childrenand your family, please don’t lether go.

3. My son, don’t confine theposition of your wife to thekitchen, where did you get thatfrom? Even in our days, we hadfarm-lands where they workedevery morning . . . that was ouroffice.4. My son, if I tell you that you’rethe head of the house, don’t lookat your pocket; look if you willsee a smile on your wife’s face.5. My son, if you want to have along life, let your wife be in-charge of your salary, it will bedifficult for her to spend it whenshe’s aware of the home needsand bills to pay but if it’s in yourcare, she will keep you askingeven when all has been spent.6. My son, don’t ever beat yourwoman, the pain in her body isnothing to be compared to thewound on her heart and thatmeans you may be in troubleliving with a wounded woman.7. My son, now that you’remarried, if you live a bachelorkind of life with your wife, youwill soon be single again.8. My son, in our days, we hadmany wives and many childrenbecause of our large farm-landsand many harvests, there arehardly any land for farminganymore, so embrace yourwoman closely.9. My son, under the cocoa treethat I did meet your mother couldbe your eateries and restaurantsof nowadays, but remember, thecloset thing we did there was toembrace each other.10. My son, don’t be carried awaywhen you start making moremoney, instead of spending onthose tiny legs that never knewhow hard you worked to get it,spend it on that woman thatstood by you all along.11. My son, when I threw littlestones or whistled at the windowof your mother father’s house, tocall her out, it was not for sex, itwas because I missed her somuch.12. My son, remember, when yousay your wife has changed, therecould be something you’vestopped doing too.13. My son, your mother, Asake by namerode the bicycle with me before Ibought that tortoise car outsidethere, any woman that won’tendure with you in your littlebeginning should not enjoy yourriches.14. My son, don’t compare yourwife to any woman, there areways she’s enduring you too andhas she ever compared you toany man?15. My son, there is this thing youpeople call feminism, well, if awoman claim to have equal rightwith you in the house, divide allthe bills into two equal parts, takeone part and ask her to startpaying the other part.16. My son, I met your mother avirgin and I took more yams toher father, if you don’t meet yourwife a virgin, don’t blame her,what I didn’t tell you is that ourwomen had prestige.17. My son, I didn’t send yoursisters to school because I wasfoolish like many to think afemale child won’t extend myfamily name, please don’t makethat mistake, the kind of femaleachievers I see nowadays hasmade the male-gender anordinary tag.18. My son, your mother haveonce locked up the cloth I waswearing and almost tore itbecause she was angry, I did notraise my hand to beat herbecause of a day like this, so thatI can be proud to tell you that Inever for once beat your mother.19. My son, in our days, ourwomen had more of naturalbeauty, though I wouldn’t lie toyou, some had minor painting oftheir appellation mostly on theirarms, the ones you people nowcall tattoo, but don’t forget thatthey didn’t expose any part oftheir body like your women ofnowadays.20. My son, your mother and I arenot interested in what happensin your marriage, try to handleissues without always coming tous21. My son, remember I boughtyour mother’s first sewingmachine for her, help your wifeachieve her dreams just as you’repursuing yours.22. My son, don’t stop taking careof me and your mother, it’s asecret of growing old and havingchildren to take care of you too

Instructions
Unwrap all the ice cream sandwiches
Lay the first layer of three down
Drizzle chocolate, caramel and any other toppings you want. This will harden and act as a glue two hold this cake together.
Lay the second layer of three ice cream sandwiches
Drizzle chocolate, caramel and any other toppings again.
Lay the last layer of three and then frost the outside of the cake with whip cream topping.
Top the cake with more drizzled chocolate, caramel and any other toppings you want on it.
Enjoy! See more pics below.
Source: stylishboard.com and www.isavea2z.com

I have often thought that if the devil can't make a man bad he'll make
him busy.

When I am busy or in a hurry it is impossible for me to havequality relationshipswith God or people. The devil knows this
and is able to hide behind any man's "busy" schedule to accomplish
his goal:the destruction of his
relationships. He is very aware of the fact that to reallyknowsomeone
a man must learn toslowhis pace down to be present and
connect. There are the simple mechanics of healthy relationships that can be
easily destroyed through external over-commitment and its partner, hurry.

Satan's scheme gets men playing the "busy" card as a
justification for lack of quality in their connections with God and people. A
full and robust work life should be an expectation of men not a rationalization
for why our relationships are weak especially when it comes to your
relationship with God. Get that.

It is a healthy expectation of men to earn a living, provide for afamilyand secure their future. Take that
seriously. But when our "to-do" list overshadows our
"to-be" list as a believer,husband orfather, then something could be amiss with our faith and
understanding of who God is, and what he wants from us.

There's no commandment in the Bible that says, "Thou shalt
over-commit yourself for this is honorable." No, Jesus said the most
important commandment is to give energy, time and presence toward two sets of
relationships:

o" 'Love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This
is the first and greatest commandment.

o"And
the second is like it: " 'Love your neighbor as yourself' " (Matt.
22:37-39).

o"Trust
in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all
your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight" (Prov.
3:5-6).

So, what does that look like in the everyday life of a modern man?

1. Have FAITH in God.Men need to put more faith in God to
provide and guide than faith in themselves, their abilities and schedules. Do
that and God promises to provide for your needs, and give you an abundant life.

The number one enemy of faith in God in your life is pride and
self-sufficiency. God says he would like you to replace that with healthy and
humble dependency. Both build a strong relationship with Him.

2. Have FOCUS on God.God created men to be in relationship
with Him. He yearns to be acknowledged throughout your day, to be sought-after,
to be known. When we over commit, our relationship with God suffers. But if we
focus on God and living the way he intended us to, he promises to provide power
and peace beyond our understanding. It's a win-win
transformation.

o"But
seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well" (Matt. 6:33).

o"Since,
then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where
Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not
on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in
God" (Col. 3:1-3).

There's your life and God's kingdom. One exists within the other but
Satan wants you to believe God's kingdom exists to fit into your kingdom. We
borrow great troubles with that mindset. Think like a kingdom man and
continuously pray: "Your kingdom come, Your will be done."

3. Make FREE TIME with God.Crowding our schedules leaves little
time for God. Try re-thinking your day and week to include a "timeout
tithe," meaning give God your time and attention every day. It's like
giving yourself a daily tune-up, filling your gas tank or getting an oil change.
If we don't replenish, refresh and refuel, our engine will burn out.

So, open your Bible, open your heart and mind. Ask God to speak to you,
then listen. You will find nibbles of truth from the Word will become feasts
for life.

o"Blessed
is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that
sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law
of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a
tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose
leaf does not wither whatever they do prospers" (Psalm 1:1-3).

Another easy step to take is to honor the Sabbath. God modeled
taking one day off from work, so should we. Jesus "withdrew" to be
with God. There must be a reason if the Creator of the universe wants us to
take a break from it all, and focus on our relationships at home and with Him.

o"Be
still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10).

Perhaps the best example of well-placed, well-timed prioritizing in the
Bible is the brief story about the visit Jesus made to Martha's house. Read
this, and let it marinate in your mind, and then assess which sister you
reflect in the story.

o"As Jesus and his disciples were on
their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to
him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what
he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.
She came to him and asked, 'Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to
do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!'

o"
'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'You are worried and upset about many
things, but few things are needed or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is
better, and it will not be taken away from her' " (Luke 10:38-42).

Well, was it Mary? Are you too "distracted" to spend time
with Jesus?

Jesus is saying to all men who claim a connection: You have to SLOW to
KNOW Me.